To: RH Abdurrahman Mohamed Abdillahi, Chairman/Speaker
Somaliland Parliament.
cc: RH Abdul Aziz Mohamed Samale, 1st Deputy-Chairman,
Somaliland Parliament.
: RH Bashe Mohamed Farah, 2nd Deputy-Chairman,
Somaliland Parliament.
cc: RH Suleiman Mohamoud Adam, Chairman/Speaker
Somaliland House of Elders.
cc: Mr. Abdillahi Mohamed Dualeh, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Republic of Somaliland.
cc: Mr. Oomane , Chief Justices, Supreme Court; Republic of Somaliland.
cc: Mr. Ahmed Hassan Ali, Somaliland Minister of Justice;
Republic of Somaliland.
November 12, 2007.
Your Excellencies,
On Freedom and Democracy, perhaps the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt will make some sense to our parliamentarians:
"It is my right to be uncommon. For I do not choose to be a common man, if I can, I seek opportunity. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the government look after me. I choose to take the calculated risk, to dream, to build, to fail or succeed. I choose not to barter incentive for a dole; I prefer the challenges of life to a guaranteed existence, the thrill of fulfillment to the state calm of Utopia. I will not trade my freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout.
True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt [1882-1945]; thirty-second of the USA.
Subject: Detention of
1. Eng. Mohamed Hashi Elmi}
2. Dr. Mohamed Abdi Gabose} QARAN LEADERSHIP.
3. Jamal Ibrahim Aideed}
Prior to the agreement on the postponement of the municipal and Presidential elections, the three political parties secretly agreed to stonewall any possibility of forming new parties during the upcoming municipal elections. At the same time, the government has negotiated a second agreement with the RH. Mr. Suleiman Mohamoud Adam and the Chamber of the Wise men [Guurti] to draft legislation effecting the extension of the term of Office of the President by three years. Both moves are intended to deny the illegally incarcerated Qaran leadership and any another citizen to exercise the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms enshrined in our national Constitution.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LEGISLATURE:
Acting on the Universally accepted principle that states: "Government authority is a derivative of the will of the ruled masses manifested through periodically held free and fair elections where each every citizen is accorded universal suffrage; where national constitutions are in conformity with the norms of international law; and where the articles of such constitutions are subject to amendments and/or changes to eliminate or reconcile contradictory sections; and whereas such powers are vested in the duly elected representatives [national parliament]." In other words, it is the primary duty and the sole responsibility of the 82 members of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Somaliland and they have the following two options at their disposal:
1. Draft the appropriate legislation amending of Article 9[3] of our Constitution to reflect some semblance of compatibility with Articles 21, 22, 23, and 32. Regardless of the existing procedures for the formation of new parties, the House of Representatives is the sole arbiter in this issue and they should size up to the occasion by doing the right thing; or else
2. Rewrite the wording of article 9 section 3 by inserting the following: “The three political parties with the highest votes in the first municipal elections in Somaliland shall forever remain the only three national political parties allowed in Somaliland." This simple amendment takes care of our Rights and Freedoms under articles 21-36; eliminates some of the ambiguities in the constitution; and eases the insecurity of the present three parties- the door is shut forever on all future competition.
Do our parliamentarians have the political will and the courage to make these changes in time for the coming elections? Failure to do so now and they incur wrath of an angry electorate three years from now.
THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT AND FREEDOMS OF THE CITIZEN:
The quintessence's of the incarceration of the leadership of QARAN POLITICAL ASSOCIATION is a classic case of a completely broken down Justice System and a conflated interpretation of our Constitution.
This case falls within the grey and the shady areas of our Constitution: where to draw a fine demarcation line between the Rights and the Obligations of the State and the Rights and the Freedoms of the individual. The application of the 1962 Penal code of the defunct Somali state is rather questionable when the issue is the Rights and the Freedoms of the individual. At the time of the drafting of the Somali Penal Code, the Commissioned Officers of the Somaliland Scout were under Court-martial in Mogadiscio for 'High Treason'.
Article 11 [2] of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights deals with the application of Penal Codes:
" No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed."
Here, on the one hand, we have apprehensive state machinery unprepared to handle any real or perceived challenge to its totalitarian authority. Regrettably, the custodians of the Manual of Interpretation of the articles of the Constitution had been missing in action for the past six and a half years. The Justices of the Supreme Court simply turned an appendage of the Executive Branch. The checks and balances between the three branches of our government are lost in the process.
On the other hand, we have three citizens struggling to establish a political association according to the letter and the spirit of Part Three, articles 21-36 of Somaliland Constitution- "The Rights of the Individual, Fundamental Freedoms and the Duties of the Citizen." The rights and the freedoms included in these sixteen articles are more or less identical to those included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of the African Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights. During the municipal elections of December, 2003, at least seven political organizations competed. Why should the rules be changed this time?
THE FORMATION POLITCAL PARTIES:
That being the case, it is noteworthy that Article 9 of our Constitution describes the political system of our nation as follows:
" Article 9: Political System
1. The political system of the Republic of Somaliland shall be based on peace, co-operation, democracy
and plurality of political parties.
2. The number of political parties in the Republic of Somaliland shall not exceed three (3).
3. A special law shall determine the procedures for the formation of a political party, but it is unlawful for any political party to be based on regionalism or clanism."
Section 1, article 9, taking the wording at face value, implies a democratic state with a multi-party political system that guarantees the citizen a range of choices at the national level. The fine print of section 2 is reasonable assuming that this measure is a safety precaution against the repetition of the experience of the March, 1969 parliamentary elections.
However, the problem is with section 3 and the law determing the establishment of political parties. If there is such a law that states that the three political parties with the highest votes in the first municipal elections in Somaliland shall remain the only three national political parties allowed in Somaliland, then the leadership of Qaran political association have violated the law of the land; otherwise, the state should reinstate the political freedom of the three incarcerated individuals.
The question is: Does the above article conform to the intent and the spirit of article 21, sections 1 and 2; article 22, sections 1 and 2; article 23, section 3 and section 4-which is subject to a wide range of interpretations; and article 32 sections 1,2, and 3, of Somaliland Constitution?"
THE CONSTITUTION OF SOMALILAND:
The drafters of our Constitution came up with the framework of a document modeled on the American system of government. Although the conspicuous absence of legal expertise has impacted the functionality of the final product, it never the less meets the basic requirements of a modern constitution. Subjected to the rigors of interpretation, the inadequacies of the blue print are now becoming more and more apparent. The interpretation of any disputed article or subtext of such an article, without an independent and impartial judicial system, is a catch-22 situation. Although this situation has paralyzed the day to day functioning of the state, that does not imply that the nation is facing serious constitutional crisis.
The choice of this model of governance, over other comparable systems, was to ascertain the establishment of state institutions whose jurisdictions are clearly defined- a system of checks and balances where no single institution oversteps the limits of its authorities. Some of the real problems with our current constitution are:
1. Nine or ten articles of our Constitution carry more clout than the rest of the other one hundred twenty or so articles;
2. The apparent inequity in the delegation of powers among the different branches of the government;
3. The absence of a transparent mechanism to reconcile contradictory or ambiguous articles;
4. Most of the byelaws defining some critical sections of the constitution are incomplete;
5. The Chamber of the Wise men [Guurti] is a natural impediment to all legislation drafted and enacted by the House of Representatives.
Sooner or later, these serious problems should be addressed. The above factors shifted the equilibrium in favour of the Executive Branch, or better still, our government is no better than a motor vehicle driving at night on the wrong side of the highway with the headlights turned off. A unidirectional system of governance [ONE WAY TRAAFFIC] is more than we bargained for.
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS ON PERSONAL FREEDOMS:
Pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution number 217[III] of December 10,1948 the following Human Rights and fundamental Freedoms are guaranteed:
1: UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Article 1: "Equality in the freedom of dignity and rights for all persons";
Article 2: " Entitlement to the rights and freedoms of the
Declaration regardless of Language, Race, Religion,
Gender, Colour, Political opinion, Social or National
Origin, Property or Social Status";
Article 3: “The right to life, liberty, and security of person";
Article 5: "Prohibition against all forms of degrading and
inhumane punishment";
Article 6: "The right to be recognized as a person before the courts
of law";
Article 7: "Equality before the law without discrimination"
Article 8: "The right to seek restitution before qualified or tribunals";
Article 9: "No arbitrary detentions or incarcerations";
Article 10: "The right to a fair and speedy trial by an impartial court of law";**
Article 11-1- " Presumption of innocence for all penal crimes";
Article 18: "Freedom of thought, conscience, and Religion"
Article 19: " Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the
residual right to disseminate information
through the media, etc."
Article 20: “Freedom of Assembly and Association";
Article 21-1- " The right to participate government directly
Or through elected representation"
21-2- " The right to access public services";
2: HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS OF THE AFRICAN UNION
Furthermore, the Organization of African Unity Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as adopted on June 27, 1981 also guarantees the following fundamental Human Rights:
Articles: 3,5, 19, 26: " Equality before the Law";
Articles: 3 and 7: " Right to a fair and speedy trial";**
Articles: 5,6, and 9: " Right to Liberty";
Articles: 8, 13, 20: " Civil and political Rights";
Articles: do,11, 13: " Freedom of Association and Assembly";
3: EUROPEAN UNION CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
And according to with the European Convention on Human Rights as adopted in 1950 "to Protect Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms" as enshrined in the following articles:
Article 2: " The Right to Life";
Article 3: " Prohibition of Torture";
Article 5: " Right to Liberty and Security of Person";
Article 6: " Right to a Fair Trial";**
Article 7: " Harsh and Cruel Punishment";
Article 9: " Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion";
Article10: " Right to Freedom of Expression";
Article11: " Right to Freedom of Assembly and Association";
Article13: " Right to Restitution- Effective Remedy";
Article14: " Prohibition of Discrimination"
The Rights and the Freedoms guaranteed under our Constitution are in conformity with those adopted by the United Nations Organization, the European Union, and the African Union. If some sections of Somaliland Constitution are deliberately in contravention of these universal laws, our legislatures should rectify immediately all shortcomings with due diligence.
May Allah Bless the People and the Nation of Somaliland.
Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Sabeyse
Email:asabeyse@hotmail.com
Scarborough, ON. Canada.
_____________________________________________________________________
** The right to an impartial and independent tribunal is embodied in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217, and U.N. Doc. A/811 (1948). This right is also incorporated in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966). European countries included this right in Article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted Nov. 4, 1950, art. 27, 213 U.N.T.S. 222, 228; and articles 3 and 7 of the Human and Peoples' Rights of African Union, adopted by the OAU on June 27, 1981.
